Stethoscopes have long been used by physicians to monitor auscultatory sounds. Typically, stethoscopes have been comprised of a chestpiece, a sound transmission mechanism and an earpiece assembly. The chestpiece is adapted to be placed against the skin of a patient for gathering the auscultatory sounds. The sound transmission mechanism acoustically transmits the gathered sound to the earpiece where the physician may monitor the sound.
The chestpiece of conventional acoustic stethoscopes typically is dual sided, top and bottom, to allow either side of the chestpiece to contact the skin of the patient, perhaps for the gathering of auscultatory sounds in different frequency ranges.
The art of auscultation is becoming more sophisticated through the use of electrical or electronic sensors, information processors, and information display. The use of an acoustic stethoscope is a well developed skill that can be enhanced with various forms of electronic amplification, signal processing, and signal display. Two examples of auscultation devices are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,889 (Bredesen et al.) and pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/782,079 (Bredesen et al.), now U.S. Pat. No. 5,213,108.
Provision for both acoustic and electrical accumulation of sound at a stethoscope chestpiece has been attempted.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,071,694 (Pfeiffer) describes a stethoscope chestpiece which has both an electronic and an acoustic capability. The chestpiece of the stethoscope described therein has a microphone mounted in a location adjacent to the acoustic pathway and is sealed into an internal air channel of the chestpiece.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,164 (Little et al.) describes a stethoscope chestpiece where the microphone is positioned in a cavity diametrically opposed to the acoustic pathway.
Copending, co-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/658,099, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,204,500, describes an ergonometric stethoscope chestpiece where the microphone is mounted in a pathway different from the acoustic pathway.